Jesus Christ the Exorcist (Live at Morsefest 2018) (Live)

Neal Morse

Released on 5/06/20 by Frontiers Records s.r.l.
Main artists: Neal Morse
Genre: Progressive Rock

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Can we reconcile rock and religion? Although this question might prove thorny in most countries that have separated church and state, or in those where music is the means of combating the overwhelming grip that certain cults have established in the highest corridors of power, it does not seem to bother most Americans, let alone Neal Morse. The talented multi-instrumentalist behind excellent prog-rock bands like Spock's Beard, and former collaborator of Mike Portnoy in Transatlantic, dropped everything after seeing the light at the beginning of the century. Well, dropped almost everything, except the music that he now puts at the service of the divine Word and the defence of Christendom which, according to him, saved his sick daughter when God heard his prayers. Since then, Morse has sung and played many praises, not without retaining a certain approach to music from his rock years.

In 2018, he began composing and directing a musical, which could also be described as a progressive rock opera, Jesus Christ: The Exorcist. A musical piece prepared and rehearsed with such intensity that he decided to perform the entire piece on stage even before recording it in the studio and releasing an album version. This performance, which brings to the stage five main and eleven additional musicians (the latter on strings, brass, etc.); thirteen singers (some playing several roles); and a choir of about twenty people, takes place during the annual festival organised by Morse himself, the Morsefest, on 14-15 September 2018.

Ignoring the purely ecumenical content of the lyrics of that evening's songs, we can only admire the technical execution of pieces like The Madman of the Gadarenes or Get Behind Me Satan, moments of pure progressive rock on which the incredible guitar playing of Paul Bielatowicz and the impressive virtuosity of drummer Eric Gillette (also a talented multi-instrumentalist) hit the bullseye. We must of course accept an alternation between these bravura moments and more conventional songs, as if composed for Sunday Mass (Love has called my Name). Across twenty-five tracks, the work of Neal Morse stands out as a very good piece of prog rock over which a layer of "made in Broadway" polish would have to be deposited to make the whole accessible to a wider audience. Because to reach the greatest number of people you have to follow the rules. After all, isn't that what happened before Jesus Christ Superstar, another rock opera first performed on the stage in 1971, gained international recognition and a film version? © Chief Brody/Qobuz

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Jesus Christ the Exorcist (Live at Morsefest 2018) (Live)

Neal Morse

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